I was watching one of my favorite movies the other night, Contact
with Jodi Foster. There are so many great quotes in this movie, and I
find myself getting caught up in the “what if” about life on other
planets. It’s also a movie that I can show to my friends and family
where spectrum analyzers, frequencies, and math all come together. It
gives them a small glimpse into what test and measurement equipment can
be used for.

One quote in particular stuck with me after the movie:
“Mathematics is the only truly universal language.” I let that phrase
roll around inside my head for a while because, fundamentally, I agree
with this statement, but then again it causes me problems.

I studied abroad in France during college and participated in two
electrical engineering classes and labs. I was amazed to see the
female-to-male ratio in the electrical engineering classes was 1:100,
but that is another topic.

One class I participated in was a repeat of one I had completed in
the US. I wanted to see how the teaching methods were different and
assumed it would be easy to understand since I already knew the topic.
The second class was completely new to me, and I was scheduled to take
it when I returned to the US. Both classes were extremely hard for me to
understand in French. Of course, there were words and symbols that were
universal, or at least easy to understand, like “Ω” and “électronique,”
but I spent most of my time in class flipping through my dictionary.
How I wish I had had an iPhone with me at the time!

I once hosted a foreign exchange student from China, and too many
times we said, "Thank you, Steve Jobs," because the iPhone and iPad
translation applications have been invaluable. Our exchange student was
very intelligent, and, as a freshman, her math skills were two levels
above her grade level. However, she had trouble in her math class. Read more...

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About Me

Hello, my name is Helge Scherlund and I am the Education Editor and Online Educator of this personal weblog and the founder of eLearning • Computer-Mediated Communication Center.
I have an education in the teaching adults and adult learning from Roskilde University, with Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and Human Resource Development (HRD) as specially studied subjects. I am the author of several articles and publications about the use of decision support tools, e-learning and computer-mediated communication. I am a member of The Danish Mathematical Society (DMF), The Danish Society for Theoretical Statistics (DSTS) and an individual member of the European Mathematical Society (EMS). Note: Comments published here are purely my own and do not reflect those of my current or future employers or other organizations.